Dear !*TITLE*! !*LASTNAME*!,
The Olympic Games are over and I guess those of my readers interested in sports have a bit mixed feelings, depending on whether you supported Finland or Japan. Japan got 38 medals, 50% more than the 25 from Beijing four years ago. Finland only three and no gold. But we have got used to a small medal count, since Los Angeles 1984 when Finland won 12 medals, we haven't got more than five medals at any Summer Games.
But, after all, it is only sports, and kind of entertainment. And now we get some more sleep (those of us in Japan who wanted to see some of the evening events live)....
We still have some seats left on our Yakatabune Cruise on Thursday, 23 August. So if you plan to join and have not yet signed up, do so soon before we run out of seats, the final dead-line for registration in Monday, 20 August. Read more about the event below.
Partly related to the Olympics; this week we have a new contribution from Japan veteran in Finnish business his column Aoyama View, this time titled "Olympics, economy, business and of course some politics...
".
The title says it all, so click banner at right for an interesting read on a variety of subjects!

Thursday, 23 August - FCCJ Yakatabune Event
Finnair AY4159 - Honka HJ4169 Code Share Cruise
Based on the success of last two year's cruises we have again decided to start off the FCCJ Autumn season in style and with some great fun, please join us for the
Finnair AY4159 - Finn Tour FT4120 Code Share Yakatabune Cruise on Thursday, 23 August!
We have chartered our own Yakatabune boat. It starts at Asakusa touring down Sumida River to Odaiba and back in 2.5 hours. During the cruise you could enjoy a great Japanese tempura-sashimi dinner and drinks in the "all-you-can-eat & drink" style.

Tuesday, 4 September - German Chamber Event
The Sovereign Debt and its Global Implications
Speaker: Dr.Jörg Krämer, Chief Economist & Divisional Board Member for Research, Commerzbank
The Chinese economy is slowing, the US economy still suffers from the burst of the debt bubble.
However, the biggest risk for the global economy stems from the sovereign debt crisis in the euro-zone.

6,000 yen (members), invoiced after the event
Please inform us of dietary restrictions if any.

Registration:

by Tuesday, 28 August

Dr. Jörg Krämer will pay particular attention to the European crisis and will analyse whether the German economy can continue to outperform the rest of the Euro-zone in the years to come. He will also give his perspective on the outlook for Asia. Marketwise, he will analyse the ECB monetary policy and highlight Commerzbank's outlook for bond yields and FX markets.
For more information about the event, click link below
If you are interested in attending, please send the registration (directly to the German Chamber) by email to events@dihkj.or.jp and note "FCCJ Member" to participate at the member price of 6,000 yen.

Friday, 28 September - The North-America - Europe Golf Challenge in Japan Mercedes-Benz Japan Cup 2012
The 10th Anniversary North America - Europe Golf Challenge in Japan, the Mercedes-Benz Japan Cup 2012, will be played on Friday, 28 September, at the same venue as in previous years, the Atsugi Kokusai Country Club in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The organizing task-force is working hard to make this 10th Anniversary event a memorable one for all participants. Among other exciting new features we will have an "after-party", free for all players with their significant other at the Mercedes-Benz Connection in Nogizaka (opposite Tokyo Midtown) on Thursday, 4 October.
Registration
The participation fees are same as last year, i.e. a 3,000 yen non-refundable registration fee and a 21,000 yen fee (paid to the club) for the play, caddie, lunch and party and a lot of great prizes, for a total of 24,000 yen. Note that bus transportation is free for the 40 first to sign-up for it.
Sponsoring the event
If you want to promote your company through this event, and its web site, please sign up as a sponsor.
Your contribution could be either money or goods/services. Sponsorship starts from 40,000 yen (100,000 yen in goods services).
To sign-up as player and/or sponsor, please click link at right.

News from FinlandElop: Nokia to unveil new Windows smartphone
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop promised on Wednesday to unveil a new smartphone using Microsoft's latest Windows 8 software soon.
Speaking in Oslo, he also said he was sticking to his strategy of using Microsoft software despite the limited success of Windows Phones so far.
Nokia will hold a trade show in Helsinki on September 5th and 6th, just a week before an Apple event where the US competitor may announce a redesigned iPhone.
Firm dismisses S&P downgrade
In a separate development, Nokia shrugged off Standard & Poor's downgrade of its credit rating, saying on Wednesday afternoon it had sufficient liquidity and was conserving cash.
S&P cut Nokia's rating to BB- with a negative outlook, saying its second-quarter results and outlook for the third quarter were weaker than expected.
Nokia CFO Timo Ihamuotila said the impact of the rating agency's decision on Nokia was "limited."
Nokia shares rose by some seven percent after Elop's comments, and were up by around three percent in the afternoon despite the S&P announcement.

Grin of the WeekWhy some athletes cannot have proper jobs... (more about Olympics)
Pauli Nevala, a Finnish javelin thrower, was after winning the Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 offered appearance fees to compete in local competitions. Once in Kauhajoki, he was offered 20,000 markkas (which was a lot of money in those days) and one third of the ticket proceeds. Mr. Nevala objected, "No way, I wan't to have one fifth!".

If you have any comments, rumors, gossip or inside information, send it to: fccj@gol.com

ABOUT THIS BULLETIN
This bulletin is
published by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Japan (FCCJ) and
distributed to over 650 recipients among its members and related
organizations. FCCJ was established in April 1999 to promote trade and
economic exchange between Japan and Finland and has today 62 corporate
members, 12 individual and one special member.